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HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP

Sarah, who is married to Christopher, 30, and has two children Darcy, six, and Oliver, three, says: 'I was brought up on board games and my children love them too – there is something deeply rewarding about sitting around a table as a family and playing a game.'

She says games such as Buccaneer are popular with collectors nostalgic for a favourite they grew up with and keen to share with others. 'This pirate game is all about plundering so it is not politically correct – but that is a key part of its appeal,' she says.

This pirate game is all about plundering so it is not politically correct – but that is a key part of its appeal - Sarah McClure

'The old versions also come with a hoard of booty – rare gems and barrels of rum – but the later Pirates Of The Caribbean version lost some of this thrill by using playing cards instead.'

Buccaneer was invented in 1938 – originally coming in a rolled up scroll – with good condition examples now selling for £200.

Later editions from the Fifties that still have their original booty can sell for £100.

Adults who grew up in the Sixties and Seventies may remember the frustration of the game Mouse Trap not always working – but they are probably more horrified by the modern version that has done away with most of the mechanical parts.

An original 1963 set complete with diver and bath can sell for more than £50.

Another favourite is the 1973 Escape From Colditz. This was devised by Major Pat Reid, who escaped from the German prison in October 1942. Sets of the board game now sell for £100.

The Swastika on its cover was removed in the late Seventies for being 'racist'.

Investment: Games such as Buccaneer are popular with collectors

Another game that has been transformed over the years is Escalado, a horse racing game. Introduced in 1928, early sets command £200 – but only if the lead-weighted horses still have intact all four easy-to-break legs.

Later editions that include metal horses can still go for £100, but plastic sets made from the Nineties onwards are not valuable.

Illustrations and novelty value add to the appeal of a board game. For example, The Archers Board Game from the Sixties offers a fine view of the BBC Radio soap opera's market town of Borchester, where you can bid on livestock. These earliest sets sell for £70.

By way of example, Wade says a 1986 version of Fireball Island, complete with a full set of red marbles, is worth up to £300. Incomplete, it is worth just a few pounds.

Ken Mignot, owner of games enthusiast website games2collect, says: 'Traditional games for groups where the focus is on friends and family spending time together rather than just staring at a TV screen will always have a place in the home.

'As games become more scarce values will continue to rise. This includes everything from timeless classics such as Monopoly to a horse racing spin-off known as Totopoly released in 1938 that can now fetch £300.'

£1.3m FOR A GAME... NOW THAT'S MONOPOLY MONEY

Buy! Monopoly's enduring appeal makes early sets valuable

Monopoly is the most popular game in history, with more than 200 million sets sold worldwide since first produced by Parker Brothers in 1935. It has been played by more than a billion people.

Pre-war editions in good condition fetch more than £100. Black box covered editions sold until the Sixties can sell for £50 if they have all the original parts.

The Landlord's Game was the forerunner of Monopoly and was designed by American socialist Lizzie Magie in 1903 as an aid to help people understand taxes.

She sold her rights to the game to Parker Brothers in 1935 for just $500 (£330). The earliest sets sell for thousands of pounds.

Monopoly creator Charles Darrow adapted The Landlord's Game in 1933 and originally based it on streets in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

A hand-made set from 1933 sold for £90,000 in 2011.

The world's most expensive Monopoly set is a £1.3 million game made in 1985 from 23-carat gold – with diamond-studded dice and ruby and sapphire decorated houses and hotels. It is owned by the Smithsonian Institution in America.

What makes a game worth the most money?

The earliest complete editions of games command the highest prices. Before the late Victorian era, games tended to be educational and based on snakes and ladders-type rules. Though not as much fun to play, their rarity makes them valuable.

Examples include The New Game Of Virtue Rewarded & Vice Punished from 1818, which can sell for £500.

Mignot says: 'The most important thing is to be guided by what you love. If you really enjoy a specific game then you can always invest in an early edition that you can safely store away while keeping aside a later version for family fun.'

He says one of his personal favourites is a James Bond game called 007 Underwater Battle from Thunderball. A 1965 version can be worth £2,000.

Mignot adds: 'Do not be downhearted if you pull out a favourite game from the cupboard only to find that the odd piece has mysteriously vanished.

'Enthusiasts such as myself always stock spare parts, as well as copies of instructions – which are vital for stopping arguments when you are playing a game.'